Human papilloma virus persistence and neopterin,folate and homocysteine levels in cervical dysplasias

Objective  

To investigate the relationship between human papilloma virus (HPV) infection persistence and serum folate, vitamin B12, homocysteine, neopterin levels in cervical dysplasia.     

Effects of passive smoking on lung function tests in preschool children born late-preterm: a preventable health priority

Objective: Late-preterm delivery is known to be associated with potential adverse effects on lung development. Passive smoking may result in alterations of pulmonary function in infants born late-preterm. Impulse oscillometry (IOS) is a noninvasive, rapid, and practicable technique that can assess lung function. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of passive smoking on lung function tests in preschool children born late-preterm using IOS.

Methods: The study population consisted of a total of 139 children between 3 and 7 years of age born late-preterm who were being followed-up at our outpatient unit at the time of study period. Late-preterms were subcategorized according to presence or absence of exposure to passive smoking (PS). Those with and without exposure to passive smoking were referred to as PS group (56.1%, n?=?78) and non-PS group (43.9%, n?=?61), respectively. Resistance (R5–R20), reactance (X5–X20), and resonant frequency were measured by impulse oscillometry (IOS) at 5–20?Hz.

Results: Median R5-R20 and Z5 were significantly higher and median X10 was significantly lower in PS group compared to non-PS group (p?Conclusions: This study demonstrated that passive smoking significantly increases peripheral airway resistance and seems to adversely affect lung function in children born late-preterm.     

Effects of probucol in hyperlipidemic rabbit liver: a preliminary ultrastructural study

Probucol is a lipid-lowering agent with an antioxidant effect; however, its influence on the liver remains unclear. The effects of probucol on hyperlipidemic rabbit liver are investigated to add a structural data on its therapeutical profile. Local albino rabbits were divided into three groups. 1) Hyperlipidemic group: fed with 1% cholesterol (150 g/kg/day) enriched chow for 2 months. 2) Probucol treated group: group 1 + intraperitoneal probucol (10 mg/kg/day) administration for 15 days. 3) Control group fed with normal chow. The blood lipid profile was investigated biochemically. Liver samples were examined electronmicroscopically. Within the parenchymal cells of group 1, the amount of rough surfaced endoplasmic reticulum was increased, its cisterna was dilated displaying a moderately electron dense substance in it and showed close apposition with the condensed mitochondria. In group 2, smooth surfaced endoplasmic reticulum was in extensive amounts filling almost all of the cytoplasm, displayed a reticular, degenerated appearance and was in close relation with the condensed, degenerated mitochondria. Probucol may cause degenerative changes on the liver parenchyme at the subcellular level. It alters the structure of these cells mainly acting on the smooth surfaced endoplasmic reticulum and the mitochondria that are known to be involved in cellular detoxification.     

Preferential production of IgG1, IL-4 and IL-10 in MuSK-immunized mice

Myasthenia gravis (MG) is an autoimmune disease characterized by muscle weakness associated with acetylcholine receptor (AChR), muscle-specific receptor kinase (MuSK) or low-density lipoprotein receptor-related protein 4 (LRP4)-antibodies. MuSK-antibodies are predominantly of the non-complement fixing IgG4 isotype. The MuSK associated experimental autoimmune myasthenia gravis (EAMG) model was established in mice to investigate immunoglobulin (Ig) and cytokine responses related with MuSK immunity. C57BL/6 (B6) mice immunized with 30 μg of recombinant human MuSK in incomplete or complete Freund's adjuvant (CFA) showed significant EAMG susceptibility (> 80% incidence). Although mice immunized with 10 μg of MuSK had lower EAMG incidence (14.3%), serum MuSK-antibody levels were comparable to mice immunized with 30 μg MuSK. While MuSK immunization stimulated production of all antibody isotypes, non-complement fixing IgG1 was the dominant anti-MuSK Ig isotype in both sera and neuromuscular junctions. Moreover, MuSK immunized IgG1 knockout mice showed very low serum MuSK-antibody levels. Sera and MuSK-stimulated lymph node cell supernatants of MuSK immunized mice showed significantly higher levels of IL-4 and IL-10 (but not IFN-γ and IL-12), than those of CFA immunized mice. Our results suggest that through activation of Th2-type cells, anti-MuSK immunity promotes production of IL-4, which in turn activates anti-MuSK IgG1, the mouse analog of human IgG4. These findings might provide clues for the pathogenesis of other IgG4-related diseases as well as development of disease specific treatment methods (e.g. specific IgG4 inhibitors) for MuSK-related MG.     

Paraoxonase and arylesterase activities in children with iron deficiency anemia and vitamin B12 deficiency anemia

Paraoxonase-1 is an esterase enzyme and it has 3 types of activity, namely paraoxonase, arylesterase, and diazoxonase. It has been reported that paraoxonase-1 deficiency is related to increased susceptibility to development of atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease. The aim of this study was to investigate serum paraoxonase and arylesterase activities in children with iron deficiency anemia and vitamin B(12) deficiency anemia. Thirty children with iron deficiency anemia, 30 children with vitamin B(12) deficiency anemia, and 40 healthy children aged 6 months to 6 years were enrolled in this study. Serum paraoxonase and arylesterase activities were measured with a spectrophotometer by using commercially available kits. Mean paraoxonase and arylesterase activities in vitamin B(12) deficiency anemia group (103 ± 73 and 102 ± 41 U/L, respectively) were significantly lower than mean activities of control group (188 ± 100 and 147 ± 34 U/L, respectively; P < .001 for both) and iron deficiency anemia group (165 ± 103 and 138 ± 39 U/L, respectively; P < .05, P < .001), whereas there were no significant differences between iron deficiency anemia and control groups (P > .05). Paraoxonase and arylesterase activities significantly increased after treatment with vitamin B(12) in vitamin B(12) deficiency anemia; however, there were no significant changes in the activities of these enzymes after iron treatment in iron deficiency anemia group. Important correlations were found between vitamin B(12) levels and both paraoxonase and arylesterase activities (r = .367, P < .001; r = .445, P < .001). Our results suggest that vitamin B(12) deficiency anemia causes important reductions in paraoxonase and arylesterase activities, and after vitamin B(12) therapy the activities of these enzymes returned to near-normal levels.     

Hepatitis A super infection as a cause of liver failure in a child with Wilson's disease

Infection with hepatitis A virus can cause severe or even fatal illness in patients with chronic liver disease. Here we describe a seven-year-old girl who presented as acute liver failure and was diagnosed with Wilson's disease and later with coexistent hepatitis A infection. Wilson's disease was demonstrated on the basis of low ceruloplasmin, high urinary copper excretion, histological evidence of cirrhosis, and high biochemical estimation of liver copper concentration. Hepatitis A was diagnosed serologically. Our case suggests that acute hepatitis A may play a part in the acute decompensation seen in some cases of unrecognized Wilson's disease. We also emphasize the importance of prevention measures of hepatitis A infection in patients with chronic liver disease.     

Prevalence of beta-thalassemia and sickle cell anemia trait in premarital screening in Konya urban area, Turkey

Thalassemias and sickle cell anemia (SCA) are common disease in Turkey. To determine the prevalence of beta-thalassemia and SCA traits in Konya urban area of Turkey, all couples applied for marriage procedures were screened. Screening tests included complete blood count and quantitation of hemoglobin for both partners. The subjects were considered to have the beta-thalassemia trait if they had a mean corpuscular volume of less than 80 fL and/or a mean corpuscular hemoglobin level of less than 27 pg and a hemoglobin A2 level of more than 3.2% or a hemoglobin F level of more than 2%. Subjects were considered to have an SCA trait if they were positive for sickle hemoglobin. During the study, premarital screening of hemoglobinopathies was evaluated retrospectively in 72,918 subjects; the thalassemia trait was detected in 1465 subjects (2%), and the SCA trait was detected in 37 subjects (0.05%). Of the carriers of the beta-thalassemia trait, 820 (56%) people had high hemoglobin A2, 513 (35%) people had high hemoglobin F, and 132 (9%) people had both high hemoglobin F and hemoglobin A2. Our results are very similar to Turkey's beta-thalassemia and SCA trait averages.     

Ictal electrocardiographic changes in children presenting with seizures

Background: The aim of this study was to determine electrocardiographic changes in children during seizures. Methods: We assessed heart rate changes, RR intervals and QT changes during 47 seizures in children. Consecutive QT and RR intervals were measured for 60 s before the seizures, during the seizures and 60 s after the seizures during video electroencephalography monitoring. Results: There were 47 seizures in 18 patients. Five patients had generalized seizures and 13 patients had focal seizures. Twelve patients were male. The mean age during monitoring was 10.1 years (range 4 months–19 years). Ictal tachycardia was seen in every seizure. No ictal bradycardia was noted. There was only one dropped beat in a patient. The mean ictal heart‐rate‐corrected QT (QTc) interval was significantly higher than the postictal measurements (P= 0.005). Mean ictal QTc variation tended to increase during seizures and then decreased below the pre‐ictal measurements in the postictal period. However these changes were statistically insignificant (P > 0.05). RR variance was significantly decreased during seizures compared to the postictal period and the standard deviation of the RR intervals was significantly decreased in the ictal period compared to the pre‐ictal period (P= 0.014 and P= 0.001, respectively). Conclusion: Tachycardia is the main finding in seizures in children. Ictal bradycardia and cardiac arrhythmias are very rare despite being more frequent in adults with seizures.     

Anatomical features of the opening of the nasolacrimal duct and the lacrimal fold (Hasner's valve) for intranasal surgery: A cadaveric study

The location and size of the opening of the nasolacrimal duct and the lacrimal fold (Hasner's valve) are variable. These features have clinical importance in nasal surgery because of the difficulty in determining their location. The aim of this study was to demonstrate the anatomical features of the opening of the nasolacrimal duct and the lacrimal fold and to discuss the importance of such knowledge in minimizing the risk of injury at surgery. Twenty sagittal head sections from formalin‐fixed cadavers were examined. The sections showed no evidence of pathology or trauma. The type of opening of the nasolacrimal duct was a vertical sulcus in 14 of 20 (70%), an oblique sulcus in 2 of 20 (10%), an oblique fissure in 2 of 20 (10%), a vertical fissure in 1 of 20 (5%), and an anteroposterior fissure in 1 of 20 specimens (5%). The lacrimal fold was present in 16 of 20 specimens (80%). Five different forms of this fold were observed. Some morphological features were evaluated quantitatively. We believe that detailed anatomical knowledge of the opening of nasolacrimal duct will be useful in surgical approaches to this area. Clin. Anat. 22:925–931, 2009. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.